Dev managing 3MLOC pushes back on Harmonic's claim that all code will be formally verified in two years

burny_tech · x · 2026-11-05

Harmonic claimed "in two years, all code will be formally verified." jiriknesl quoted it and rebutted point by point:

Formal verification proves code adheres to a specification — not that it's bug-free. The spec itself can be wrong; if you don't read it, you can't know it's correct. It just moves the goalpost.
It's uneconomical: proving 1 line of code takes 5–50 lines of proof. Managing over 3MLOC, he's not going to study 60MLOC of proofs and assumptions.
The sensible approach: formally verify only your app's core — a few thousand lines where the stakes justify engaging with the proofs.

A substantive counterpoint to the "formal verification is the next silver bullet" narrative in AI coding debates.

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